The Coercive Acts

Parliament responded with new laws that the colonists
called the "Coercive" or
"Intolerable Acts". The first, the
Boston Port Bill, closed the port of Boston until the tea
was paid for. The action threatened the very life of the
city, for to prevent Boston from having access to the sea
meant economic disaster. Other enactments restricted local
authority and banned most town meetings held without the
governor's consent. A Quartering Act required local
authorities to find suitable quarters for British troops,
in private homes if necessary. Instead of subduing and
isolating Massachusetts, as Parliament intended, these acts
rallied its sister colonies to its aid. The Quebec Act,
passed at nearly the same time, extended the boundaries of
the province of Quebec south to the Ohio River. In
conformity with previous French practice, it provided for
trials without jury, did not establish a representative
assembly, and gave the Catholic Church semi-established
status. By disregarding old charter claims to western
lands, it threatened to block colonial expansion to the
North and Northwest; its recognition of the Roman Catholic
Church outraged the Protestant sects that dominated every
colony. Though the Quebec Act had not been passed as a
punitive measure, Americans associated it with the Coercive
Acts, and all became known as the "Five Intolerable Acts."

At the suggestion of the Virginia House of Burgesses,
colonial representatives met in Philadelphia on September
5, 1774, "to consult upon the present unhappy state of the
Colonies." Delegates to this meeting, known as the
First Continental Congress,
were chosen by provincial congresses
or popular conventions. Only Georgia failed to send a
delegate; the total number of 55 was large enough for
diversity of opinion, but small enough for genuine debate
and effective action. The division of opinion in the
colonies posed a genuine dilemma for the delegates. They
would have to give an appearance of firm unanimity to
induce the British government to make concessions. But they
also would have to avoid any show of radicalism or spirit
of independence that would alarm more moderate Americans.

A cautious keynote speech, followed by a "resolve" that no
obedience was due the Coercive Acts, ended with adoption of
a set of resolutions affirming the right of the colonists
to "life, liberty, and property," and the right of
provincial legislatures to set "all cases of taxation and
internal polity." The most important action taken by the
Congress, however, was the formation of a "Continental
Association" to reestablish the trade boycott. It set up a
system of committees to inspect customs entries, publish
the names of merchants who violated the agreements,
confiscate their imports, and encourage frugality, economy,
and industry.

The Continental Association immediately assumed the
leadership in the colonies, spurring new local
organizations to end what remained of royal authority. Led
by the pro-independence leaders, they drew their support
not only from the less well-to-do, but from many members of
the professional class (especially lawyers), most of the
planters of the Southern colonies, and a number of
merchants. They intimidated the hesitant into joining the
popular movement and punished the hostile; began the
collection of military supplies and the mobilization of
troops; and fanned public opinion into revolutionary ardor.

Many of those opposed to British encroachment on American
rights nonetheless favored discussion and compromise as the
proper solution. This group included Crown-appointed
officers, Quakers, and members of other religious sects
opposed to the use of violence, numerous merchants
(especially in the middle colonies), and some discontented
farmers and frontiersmen in the Southern colonies.

The king might well have effected an alliance with these
moderates and, by timely concessions, so strengthened their
position that the revolutionaries would have found it
difficult to proceed with hostilities. But George III had
no intention of making concessions. In September 1774,
scorning a petition by Philadelphia Quakers, he wrote, "The
die is now cast, the Colonies must either submit or
triumph." This action isolated Loyalists who were appalled
and frightened by the course of events following the
Coercive Acts.